Page 143 of Begin Again, Part 2

They were agitated and heartbroken, brimming with worry and concern. But the people who had all the answers were still inside the operating room, doing everything they could to save Liam's life. So Clarke had to step in and be the beacon of hope everyone needed. He did his best to ease their fears and assure them Liam would pull through.

"How are you holding up?" Julian asked as he knelt in front of Eden.

"Do you need anything?" Matthew added at her side.

"I just need Liam to pull through," she replied, giving the brothers her bravest smile even though she felt anything but brave.

"He will," Julian said. "He's a crazy bastard. Matt, remember back in '12 when he totalled his car in the final lap of the Iconic Race?"

"Yeah," Matthew laughed. "The idiot jumped out of the burning car and walked away without a single scratch on him, pissed out of his mind he'd lost the race, and not in the least scared he could have died—"

The operating room door squeaked open, pausing the brothers' recollection of the past. A drained looking surgeon came out. From the grim look on his face, Eden knew nothing good would come out of his mouth. So she sat dead still and held herself tightly to keep herself from coming undone while Liam's family crowded around him.

The doctor's eyes darkened the longer he spoke in his flat, toneless voice. But Eden managed to catch fragments and pieces of his update. Severe blood loss. Laceration to the left kidney. Blunt force trauma. Laparoscopy.

She wanted to scream and ask him to speak English. But what right did she have to yell and act like a spoiled princess when Liam's parents were doing everything in their power to keep it together?

"We've done everything we can—" Dr Samuels said, his voice louder than before. It was almost as if he wanted Eden to hear the most devastating part of his debilitating news with absolute clarity, whether she chose to remain on the bench.

Lois broke down and wept, the sound of her grief flowing down the hallway and bouncing off the walls. Its rawness, a sharp contrast to the sterility of the room and the harrowing situation they all found themselves in.

Clarke's face crumbled ever so briefly, but he quickly masked any hint of emotion as he propped Lois up and held her close. If there was ever a time she needed an anchor, it was at that moment.

Misty-eyed and heartbroken, Eden watched all their fears play out right in front of her. Loud as her sobs were, they couldn't drown out the doctor's announcement.

'We've done everything we can.'

His words echoed in her head over and over, but no matter how long she replayed them, she couldn't make sense of them.

What did he even mean? Were they giving up on Liam? Was that it?

Was this how their fairy tale ended?

With his news delivered, one of the best surgeons in the country returned to the operating room, leaving them to pick up the pieces.

Clarke and Lois turned to her.

"No!" Eden shook her head, refusing to acknowledge the truth in their eyes.

If there was a way she could melt herself into the bench and be one with the cold hard metal so she wouldn't have to hear what they had to say, she would.

"I don't want to hear it! He's not gone!"

Lois grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard. "Eden!"

"Listen to me!" Clarke added in a gentler tone. "Liam is going to be okay. The surgery was a success. I told you he's a stubborn oaf. He'll be okay."

It took her frazzled brain a second or two to register his words, and once they'd sunk in, Eden couldn't contain her tears. She broke down and howled, her anguish, fears, and heartache flowing out of her, leaving her empty and drained.

"I thought—I thought—You were crying so much, I thought—" she stammered, unable to say the unthinkable.

"I was crying so much because I'm so relieved my baby will be fine," Lois said as she looked through her bag for tissues. She snapped her fingers at the brothers to hand over one of their handkerchiefs when she couldn't find any.

Julian did the honours, and Eden dabbed her eyes and tossed Brenda's rosary around her neck.

"He's still heavily sedated, and they're moving him to the ICU so they can monitor him closely over the next day or two," Lois continued.

Clarke chimed in. "He's not out of danger yet, so don't stop praying for him."

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